To The Last Page

One science-fiction theme that is becoming more relevant in contemporary society is the paranoia thriller. One of the best exponents of this in the 1970s was the author Philip K Dick, most dramatically in his novel A Scanner Darkly , and that idea of being constantly watched and observed by powers and authorities was updated in the movie The Truman Show to reflect the growing interest in reality TV. Even since then, reality TV and the omnipresence of security cameras, phone cameras, the growth of the internet and the ability to observe and share almost every aspect of our lives has gone to new levels that would shock even PKD. Like all great science-fiction in this field (and indeed in reality TV), there is an uncomfortable place where a fun and entertainment sit alongside a rather troubling aspect to society and personal freedoms. The amusing and slightly disturbing twist that Omni-Visibilis places on this idea is that it extends the nature of The Truman Show to consider an even mo...

Although he has moved on quite a bit from his early Lapinot adventures and autobiographical strips for the indie publisher L’Association, Lewis Trondheim’s comic work can still usually be counted on for a few reliable qualities. One is sharp writing and characterisation, there’s always a great sense of humour in his work and a hunger to try something new, meaning that you could never predict what he would do next. Not willing to even be restricted by his own limited – but brilliant – artistic style for cartoony anthromorphic characters, Trondheim will just as happily provide the scripts and enjoy the collaboration of other artists. Karmela Krimm , like his recent script for Stéphane Oiry on Maggy Garrisson , is the kind of material that needs an artist with a feel for the subject of inner city life and crime. Much like Maggy’s London – although in some ways also in complete contrast – Trondheim and Franck Biancarelli have in Karmela Krimm‘s Marseille a location that provides plenty of ...

I really enjoyed Lewis Tronheim’s Bourbon Island 1730 , the versatile writer of the Lapinot series, autobiographical strips and long-running Donjon/Dungeon unconventional heroic fantasy series turning his hand to longer-form historical fiction with wonderful results and still retaining his own blend of absurdist humour. His anthromorphised characters don’t suit every story that the prolific writer creates, so often he enlists or is teamed up with other artists, collaborating with the greats of the French indie scene like Blutch, Sfar, Blain and Larcenet among others on the various Donjon series spin-offs. The same principle applies to his work on lighter mainstream comedy series, and for the historical spy comedy Venezia created in 1999, Trondheim’s witty, twisty espionage plotting benefits from the elegant, dynamic cartoonish artwork of Fabrice Parme. The series appears to only have run to two standard French 48-page volumes – both are collected together for this eBook edition fro...

Maggy Garrisson is going to take a bit of figuring out. In the first book of a new series by Lewis Trondheim and Stéphane Oiry,  Maggy Garrisson Volume 1. “Give us a Smile, Maggy’, we don’t really know much about her background, her family, her relationship status: even her age is difficult to determine. She’s early 30s maybe, single at the moment and looking for a date, but a friend will do. The one thing we know for certain is that Maggy needs to earn some money and is looking for a job. There’s one other characteristic about Maggy that you can work out fairly quickly: she’s no fool. Her neighbour Suzanne has suggested that there might be an opening working for a Mr Wight, a Private Investigator, but Maggy only needs to walk through the door to realise that this is not going to be one of those situations where a clever and organised temp secretary changes the fortunes of a struggling near-alcoholic PI and becomes his glamorous sidekick solving elaborate crimes and celebrity murd...

Lewis Trondheim's fun Lapinot adventure from 1994 – one that remains unconnected to the main body of his Lapinot work for Dargaud – is perhaps his first fully accomplished solo work as writer and artist, after honing his craft over the course of the epic Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie . And really, even though the narrative is rather straightforward – it's basically one long running chase scene over 140 pages, as the unnamed rabbit character in a medieval setting flees from Mildiou, an evil villain with pretensions to the throne – it is nonetheless a huge leap forward for Trondheim in terms of its pacing, its dynamic layouts, its sense of fun and adventure, and in some delightful quips and humour. The line drawing is also simply superb. Mildiou then is a natural progression for Trondheim after the liberating creative experience of Lapinot et les carottes de Patagonie , one that leads the way for a character to be explored in a variety of ways (although apart from the hor...

The third collection of Trondheim’s mini-autobiographical Petit Riens sketches from life strips sees the series continuing to dip, the observations becoming more matter-of-fact than outright funny-absurd. It’s not that Trondheim’s life has become less interesting – the rightful acclaim of his work, his Grand Prize success at Angoulême a few years back and presidency at the festival the following year, all seeing Lewis propelled into recognition as a cartoonist of worldwide fame, leading to invitations to events all over the world. This provides plenty of opportunity for new and bizarre observations in the one-page strips in this latest collection, as do his characteristic lack of nerve in dealing with new situations and his funny observations about his growing up children. There’s no softening of his self-critical or observation facilities then and the artwork is as strong and evocative as ever with excellent colouration, but something is missing. The series lacks the rough fluidity an...

Les Petits Riens de Lewis Trondheim, Vol 2. Syndrome du prisonnier contains more wonderful, humorous journal entries from Lewis Trondheim - little one-page vignettes recording his unique observations on his home life and his travels around the world as an ambassador for French comics. If the stories aren't quite as fresh in this volume - you more or less know what to expect now from Trondheim - the odd quirky story will still have you laughing out loud. Most pleasurable however is the refinement of the author’s drawing style – simple, yet detailed, conveying the essential tone and characteristics of his little stories. The colouring too is simply amazing.